Contrary to what one might believe, despite his three hundred years of life experience, there were still a number of things that made Ezra anxious. Perhaps constantly erring on the side of caution was what had kept him alive all of these years… that, and a regenerative capability… but he could really deal without the anxious flutter that whirled in his chest as he crossed the threshold into the electronics store.

The store was cavernous, filled to the brim with luminous screens, artificial electronic screens, and throngs of people. Ezra wrung his hands nervously, bobbing his head in response to a chipper greeting from two men at a security kiosk.

“May we help you find anything, sir?”

His lip quivered, about to speak, and then he decided better of it. Ezra shook his head, following the aisle to his left, which led away from the registers and the front entrance.

His computer, an absolute relic by technological standards, had given up the ghost. The repairman who had looked it over had very frankly advised the homunculus that it'd be more cost-effective to just buy a new computer rather than spend the money to repair his old one. It was from the early 2000’s, and the old hardware was no longer in production.

It was thus that Ezra has now venturing into the computer area, watery eyes swimming over the displays of laptops and desktops. He nervously picked at the sleeve of his tweed overcoat, unsure of where to begin. These were far more modern than the monolith he'd left at home. He eyed a slim, fruit-themed laptop, then reeled at the price. People spent that much on computers?

His brow stitched. Maybe he should have waited until Charlie was free. She was better with all this new-age stuff than he was. All these computers looked the same, but were all so different, it was simply too much-- Ezra turned to leave and all but stumbled over someone.

“Good heavens,” he gasped, steadying himself on the counter whereupon the computers were displayed, “My apologies-- I did not see you-- I was careless. A-are you alright?”

It was hands down one of the best ideas he'd ever had and it was-wait for it-creating his own comic book series! It was quite ingenious really. The plan was to travel all over in his free time familiarizing himself with the city while filling up sketchbooks with everything he saw. He was going to commit everything to ink from the people, to the buildings, and even the street signs. With this doodled map that would span pages he would not only not get hopelessly lost, but he would use it all the create the backdrop of his brand new comic book series! That he didn't have a name for, or a main character, or any characters really. He didn't have a plot either, but he had the idea at least to start the comic and that had to count for something. Casper was sure that the rest of the minor details would fall into place eventually. Which was why as the first thing on his agenda he'd browsed the software section for a suitable program for editing art. In his mind that was a bit more important than figuring out something as tedious as a concept. It hadn't taken long to find something deemed acceptable. Being only sixteen he hadn't much money, he could only stretch that allowance so far, so Photoshop was right out and he certainly wasn't going to pay a monthly fee for the downloaded version. Once his search had been narrowed down to the cheaper options he'd found the twenty-five dollars being asked for ComicCreator more than acceptable. 

Now with his selected program in hand he was checking out the various styluses in hardware. With his mind occupied in its debate on the merit of buying the more expensive Legend of Zelda stylus over the cheaper plain and boring white one he had zero chance of evading the big fella who bumped into him and sent him sprawling to the floor with a yelp. It wasn't a fun trip and the abrupt stop left much to be desired, like softer tile that seriously needed to be a thing, but the guy who knocked him to the ground seem genuinely sorry about it. "No worries," a sheepish smile in place Casper climbed to his feet and dusted imagined dirt off his clothes. "I've had worse meetings with the floor." He hadn't paid that much attention to the man before as most of his concern was on the twinges of pain in his tailbone, but now that it was residing he took a good look up at the tall person. The dude looked very familiar. Had he seen him around somewhere? "Wait.." Casper let his backpack slide off his shoulder and drop to the floor with a noisy clatter, he had a couple of spray paint cans in there no need to worry, and knelt down to rummage through it. His hand emerged triumphantly holding one of his many sketchbooks and he frantically flipped the pages until he got to the section clearly labeled library. His eyes traveled from one of the penciled drawings to the tall man a few times before he nodded to himself and asked, "Hey, you from the school, right?" In between the aisles of bookcases Casper had drawn an image of the very same man standing before him. He'd also added a question mark to the top of the page because he had no idea who he was, just that he normally saw him in the library at school. 

Ezra extended a hand to help the boy up, but he nimbly got to his feet on his own.

>> "No worries, I've had worse meetings with the floor."

Ezra nodded wordlessly, and began to anxiously wring his hands instead. Golden eyes cut sideways. He began to turn away.

>> "Wait."

The homunculus did as instructed, wondering what the surprise collision warranted. He watched as the boy opened his backpack. The boy summoned a book and cracked it open. He was an artist.

"I am afraid I don't understand..." Ezra began to insist. He didn't have any time to look at pictures, or be drawn. The boy paused on a page, which featured a familiar figure upon the page. It was... him.

>> "Hey, you from the school, right?"

Ezra blinked, his anxious hands lowering slightly. He inclined his head at the drawings that very clearly depicted... Ezra himself. And they were good drawings, too.

"I am..." Ezra replied, cracking a smile, "I'm the librarian..."

The librarian? That made sense given how often he'd seen this man amongst the books. Casper was half tempted to ask him if he was more like Jenkins or Colonel Eve Baird, but he had a more important question. Without bothering to stow away his sketchbook he snatched up his backpack and swung it back over his shoulder. “Um, if you don't mind me asking sir...What's your name?” From his pocket he pulled out a standard pink eraser and rubbed out the question mark. “A piece isn't complete without its title. Plus I'm terrible with names and this helps.”

It was while he was waiting for that answer that something else caught his eye and the rest of the world faded away as his attention zeroed in on the marvel in front of him. “No freakin' way. They sell the new Alienware 17 here!” He then preceded to go full on nerd as he rattled off stats. “It's got Windows 10, a 32 gigabyte DDR4 that runs at 2666 megahertz, and the graphics! A NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 with 8 gigs? I'm not much a VR gamer, but with graphics like that they might convert me. This is like...The laptop of the gods.” And when he saw the godly price of $1,549.99 he visibly wilted. There was no way he could afford that. His parents were well off enough that he might be able to pitch it to them as a Christmas gift except that they would never buy him a gaming laptop when there was nothing wrong with the computer he already owned. Nor was there anything wrong with all the consoles and handhelds he'd insisted on bringing with him. If he wanted that laptop, and he did, then he was going to need to think of some creative ways to get some cash. Preferably ways that didn't involve an actual job.

“Oh well,” Casper sighed while giving the laptop one last longing look. “Are you looking to buy a computer yourself, sir?” 

The lanky librarian bent his head humbly, smiling as the boy pressed further, demanding to know Ezra's name. Or perhaps not "demanding", but "requesting".

"Mr. Pahlke," was the homunculus's soft reply, "P-a-h-"

He would have finished spelling-out his last name, but the boy's attention was snagged upon something else, and he hastily got to his feet.

>> “No freakin' way. They sell the new Alienware 17 here!”It's got Windows 10, a 32 gigabyte DDR4 that runs at 2666 megahertz, and the graphics! A NVIDIA GeForce GTX 1080 with 8 gigs? I'm not much a VR gamer, but with graphics like that they might convert me. This is like...The laptop of the gods.”

Ezra stared wide-eyed as the child appeared to speak in tongues, flitting about a specific laptop with excitement. Ezra's brow stitched, and he nodded as though he understood. It was a sleek machine, with backlit keys that gleamed iridescent colors. The homunculus's eyes drifted towards the price tag. It was double, almost triple, his budget.

>> “Oh well... Are you looking to buy a computer yourself, sir?”

"Yes," Ezra replied, prying his gaze away from the price tag, "I was using this... fossil of a thing... for the longest time... and it finally gave-up the ghost."

Ezra peered back at the "Alien" computer that the student seem so enamored with.

"Computers are much different from when I last purchased one," Ezra remarked, "They're... more streamlined."

Of course, the last time he'd purchased a computer was in the early 2000's... Ezra grimaced. Technology changed too quickly, particularly in the last three decades. Not that it was a bad thing, but it was difficult for the three-hundred-year-old mutant to keep up with the pace sometimes.

"May I ask your name?" Ezra asked the Xavier's student, "I don't suppose that you'd have... any recommendations, for an old man who knows nothing about computers?"

His hands were clasped together with determination. Since the boy had initiated contact with Ezra, the older mutant assumed it would be a safer bet to ask for his assistance, rather than harass one of the store's associates.

Belatedly Casper realized how rude he'd just been. He asked this gentleman for his name and then barely let him speak it before freaking out over a computer he couldn't even afford. He could hear his mother scolding him all the way from Texas right now. She took offense if he dared to walk through the door without greeting everyone in the room so she would be absolutely appalled with his behavior. It was a bit too late to apologize for his lapse, but Mister...Pahlke? He was pretty sure that was what he said his name was. Mr. Pahlke didn't seem offended so he was probably in the clear and it might be best to just carry on. He glanced down at his drawing and quickly scrawled Mr. P across the top before stowing the sketchbook away. He had zero chance of actually spelling Pahlke and he was a bit too embarrassed to ask.

“It's Casper,” he mumbled while treading his fingers through his curly hair. “Casper Garcia.” He was just a second away from shuffling his feet and fiddling with the zipper of his jacket, his embarrassment was that great, when he registered that request for help. Suddenly he found himself back on familiar territory before the nervousness truly had a chance to grow. He was accustomed to being the tech guru in his family, the fact that his mother had a PhD and couldn't figure out the cable box remote was a bit of a running gag back home, and while the help Mr. Pahlke needed was slightly different Casper was positive he could accommodate.

“Oh! Yeah, sure...Umm, let's see...” He trailed off as he starred at the merchandise on display. There was so much to choose from with various prices and features. The choices would need to be narrowed down before he could confidently recommend anything. What exactly the librarian was looking for in a computer was an unknown to Casper, but he could make a few educated guesses to start. If he'd been using an older computer that had finally died then Mr. Pahlke needed a new computer for personal use and probably a portable one. Desktops were nice for offices or bedrooms and the school had plenty of those in the library so portable was the obvious way to go. If his old computer had been a fossil it might be best to go down that same route. Recommending a computer with more features than Mr. Pahlke could ever hope to use, let alone understand, would be ridiculous. It would be like giving his grandfather the latest iPhone to replace his prepaid flip phone...And then praying for the best. 

 

“Okay,” He turned slightly from the computers, towards the accessories and grabbed a small, slim box.  “If you don't have one of these then the first thing I think you need is this. It's an external hard drive. Take it from a guy who has crashed his fair share of computers that it is always a good idea to back up your data.” 

“As for the computer... If it was for me and I wasn't buying it for gaming,” another longing look at that Alienware laptop, “I would go with a toughbook. Sure it's more bulky than these thinner laptops or even a tablet and kind of ugly, but it's also more sturdy. Water won't damage it. The touchscreen's not gonna crack if someone sits on it or your bratty cousin throws it.” The end of that sentence came out with a bit of bitter grumble. He was still mighty sore about the loss of a tablet of his own due to an aforementioned bratty cousin. “The Panasonic CF-30 is a reasonably priced, decent model.”

Ezra was unsure of what function an external hard drive might serve, and he surveyed the slim, cardobard box with unrestrained confusion. Back up his data? What was data? But if his expert was convinced he needed it, he needed it. The homunculus tucked the device into the crook of one elbow, and followed Casper back to the computers, and the boy offered his declaration-- a Panasonic CF-30. It still sounded like gibberish to the clueless homunculus.

"Which one is that?" Ezra asked patiently, rubbing the back of his neck in embarrassment.

Casper would really have to spell it out for the man, and for that, Ezra was truly apologetic.